30 billion euros of unpaid EU bills: European companies at risk

Business is concerned by the EU budget accumulation of unpaid invoices which is expected to reach EUR 30 billion in 2014 and by subsequent delay in payments related to EU projects. This situation hurts all beneficiaries, particularly SMEs, suffering from cash flow shortages, and touches substantially upon several areas, including research and innovation. Moreover, it becomes yet another disincentive to make good use of EU funds. At a time when we need to unlock investment in Europe this sends a really wrong signal to companies and adds to the already highly uncertain context.